Material support reflects spiritual global family
The Bahá’í community of Aotearoa New Zealand has been steadily extending a hand of friendship, both spiritually and materially, through a stream of practical contributions. This is not a new pattern, and it has been steadily unfolding over the course of many years as part of the bounty Aotearoa has to play a role in international financial collaboration under the guiding hand of the Supreme Institution.
At the outset of the Nine Year Plan, and at the invitation of the Universal House of Justice, the National Spiritual Assembly renewed the commitment of the New Zealand Bahá’í community to sustained giving over the course of the Plan, ensuring that assistance could be timely and responsive as needs arise in diverse parts of the Bahá’í world. The spirit animating these offerings is a desire to share our blessings to support sister communities in other countries in a variety of ways.
A glimpse of the last few years illustrates this interconnection. In 2021, the New Zealand Bahá’í community was given the bounty of assisting the friends in Ghana with repairs and renovations to Bahá’í properties and the purchase of furnishings and equipment.
Two years later, attention turned to our near neighbours in the Pacific when, in 2023, the community supported New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands to equip their National Office, providing the support needed to make day-to-day administration and service more effective and functional.
Last year, in 2024, the New Zealand community’s contribution assisted friends in Nepal with equipment and furnishings, and with maintenance and renovation of regional facilities, strengthening capacity as patterns of activity continue to advance.
Most recently, in 2025, support helped meet expenses related to construction of the Phuoc Hoi Bahá’í Centre in the Lagi cluster in Vietnam, another effort to support friends building the foundations of enduring community life.
These recent examples are reminders that the Bahá’í world is one body. The material means by themselves are not the essence, yet when they are offered in a spirit of love and unity, they become a means of knitting communities together at a deeper level. The significance of Aotearoa’s offerings lies in the constancy and coherence that, year after year, as opportunities arise, contributions are directed where they can assist real needs. Each instance reflects the simple principle that as capacity grows in one place, it is lovingly extended to another.
There is also a reciprocal dimension to this flow of assistance. While funds move outward, insights and inspiration flow back. The friends here in Aotearoa are encouraged by the perseverance and creativity of communities abroad; in turn, those communities feel the embrace of fellowship that transcends distance and culture. In this way, our collective learning about building vibrant communities accelerates. The practical outcomes are visible in meeting material needs, and the spiritual outcomes are felt in a shared sense of purpose.
As we look to the remaining years of the Plan, and beyond, the intention is to affirm an underlying pattern, that through these international financial collaboration goals, the Bahá’í community of Aotearoa New Zealand is part of a worldwide endeavour to nurture communities that embody Baháʼu'lláh’s vision for humanity. When an avenue opens to be of assistance, we respond as best we can; when progress is made, we rejoice with joyful hearts; and when new opportunities appear on the horizon, we stand ready to support. In this way, we contribute to a tapestry of mutual support that binds our hearts and multiplies our collective capacity to serve humanity.
The National Assembly of New Zealand continues to express gratitude to the beloved Universal House of Justice for the privilege of contributing to this practical work at a global level.
